Managed Care Services: Policy, Programs, and Research

By: Nancy W. Veeder and Wilma Peebles-Wilkins

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Synopsis: Managed Care Services explores the complexities of managed health and behavioral health care systems in relation to policy, program, and research issues. It focuses on the dramatic consequences of the transformation of health care delivery from an essential social good to a commodity totally dependent on the marketplace. The book begins with a foreword by James J. Callahan Jr., a leading authority in the field, and includes an interdisciplinary group of authors who address multiple fields of practice. A common theme throughout the book is the inadequacy of service for such high-risk groups as children, the elderly, the mentally ill, the disabled, the chronically ill, substance abusers, and minorities of color. These at-risk groups include, but are not limited to, the vast numbers of un- and underinsured people in the United States. Specific topics covered in the book include cost of access to care; parity of behavioral health care services reimbursement; health services utilization patterns; education of health care professionals and professional autonomy; care management; and ethical issues arising from the structure of managed care administrative and organizational systems. The importance of research, especially program outcome assessments, is also emphasized. Managed Care Services provide a broad overview of "macro" managed care issues and is an invaluable resource for students and professionals interested in the intersection of social work and health care.